Top 5 Mistakes Authors Make
by Daedivh
Summary: These are tips for being a better author and will help you not only rack up reviews, but number of times favorited. Listed under the Naruto category as "Adventure" and "Romance" because these are the most common two categories out there.
1. What I think are Top 5

**Hello! Master-Jiraiya here with his first work on his path to being a BETA reader. Keep in mind that this is a pointer to all authors out there, and since the majority of authors write Naruto stories, then this is going under the Naruto category. So let's start!**

_**Top Mistake Number 5: Comma Dereliction.**_

Plenty of authors out there make this mistake. The comma is quite possibly the most commonly used punctuation mark. Learning the rules of how to use a comma will aid you in the path to greatness. Not putting enough of these in a work can quickly drop your level from "Good Story" to "This Story Kinda Sucks…"

_**Top Mistake Number 4: Spell Check Dereliction.**_

Oh my god, has nobody ever heard of this? This is an essential tool as an author, as it is all too easy to slip up and misspell something while typing. The keys, you may have not noticed, are placed quite closely together, and can make for some rough typing. This can quickly drop your level from "Great Story!" to "This Must Be Why People Commit Suicide!!"

_**Top Mistake Number 3: Capitalization Dereliction.**_

Please, for the love of all that is good, use correct capitalization! Failing to capitalize correctly can repulse people from your story before they ever click on the story to start reading! Make sure that you properly use the "shift" button when giving your story or chapter a title and when writing your summary. This lowers a story level from "Hey, This Is Awesome!" to "This Story Isn't Worth My Time."

_**Top Mistake Number 2: Irrelevant Thought Similarities.**_

Too many authors out there make this mistake. Let's say that Character A Likes Character B, and Character B likes Character C. Character C has no romantic feelings for B, but A does like B. Character C will go from thinking, "When did that guy I sat behind in the theater take a bath last?!" to thinking, "Why does (Insert name of Character B here) like me so much?" directly after an inserted scene of Character A Thinking, "Oh, How I love you (insert name of Character B here)…" It's a subtle mistake that will take a story from "Pro" to "Newb" in nanoseconds.

_**Top Mistake Number 1: HPS (Horrible Plotline Syndrome).**_

Why oh why must this affect so many authors?! An author will be writing a perfectly fine story, when all of a sudden *BAM* a character's personality changes completely or an unneeded random irrelevant event is thrown in to try and make a story take a certain direction. [OR] The plotline is complete and utter rubbish to such an extreme that it fails to capture the interest of a viewer. A storyline must flow into events perfectly, the events can't just be jabbed in there like some desperate guy will jab a hooker with his penis. It just doesn't work. This will take a story from "Best Story Ever!!" to something so negative that it can't be conceived by human minds.


	2. What Annoys Others October 31 2008

**I got a few reviews for my work Top 5 Mistakes Authors Make from some readers that had some more mistakes that authors make that can be very aggravating.**

_**blackwolf0925 says:**_

"I would like to add my two cents. Rushing, It is the most irritating for me  
when an author rushes their story just to get to one particular scene that  
they have plan."

**Yeah, when authors rush, it can completely destroy a work of art. It's almost the equivalent of the Hindenburg on the "failure" scale.**

_**Wheelwright says:**_

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!

May I add my own favourite mistake? Tenses! Why on earth do people forget  
which tense they have chosen at the beginning of their story and jump from  
tense to tense like a squirrel from branch to branch? There have been stories  
with an intrigueing summary (And just why can't people spell the word  
'summary'? I've stopped reading, simply because I was tensesick after the  
first three or four sentences."

**I don't know why I didn't think of this one for my list earlier myself. I have been baffled with the amount of authors that don't know how to use tenses.**

_**Ophalina says:**_

"LOL I rofl at your example for mistake #1.

And here's something that turns me off from a story.

Endless AND unexplained hiatus  
It really makes me wanna tear the writer apart limb by limb and shove them  
into a pot of boiling oil if they suddenly stop updating for MONTHS and  
doesn't leave an explanation AT ALL.  
Especially when its from writers who post really really great work and know  
they got fans dying to know what happens next."

**I too have suffered from an author doing that I am reading around 5 or 6 stories that are never updated, but are excellent. If I receive more reviews about mistakes authors make that are all too true then I shall post them in another chapter. Also, Since I am a BETA reader, I will most likely only updates this in my spare time, because their projects shall take precedence over mine. Oh, and just for the record, I am reading roughly 27 stories right now. Any more and I would explode.**


	3. What Annoys Others November 1 2008

**Hmm, I seem to be getting quite a few contributions to my list. I think that if, and only if, I reach 30 chapters of suggestions, then I will rewrite all of this. It shall be deleted from FanFiction and replaced with something even bigger and better. I already have a name thought up in my mind, and because I love the name so much, it shall not be posted here. My rules for a chapter are as follows…**

**Three people with one to two suggestions each shall be combined into a chapter.**

**One person with at least three suggestions shall make a chapter by themself.**

**Now that the requirements for the best version are known, I present, without further ado, the third chapter of suggestions.**

_**cdfe88 says:**_

"A little contribution. If an author does the following, it will lead to an  
imminent FAIL IMO:

My Top 3

3. "I'm not good at summerys/Full Summary Inside" this just screams  
'n00bness'. If an author can't write a good summary the story loses  
credibility.

2. "Their/there/they're". There's a little place in my brain that starts  
twitching once I read something where these homophones are used wrong more  
than thrice in a row.

1. Profiles in the first chapter. I think introducing all of your OC's in a  
profile directed at the reader is tacky. It's OK to show it to interested  
readers, but a writer should be able to introduce a character completely in  
the story."

**A good series of suggestions to all authors out there. **

**Saying that you aren't good at summaries just shows (sorry about my bluntness level of this sentence, but its completely true) the world that you aren't ready to author yet. **

**Learning the rules of their/there/there is something that will produce astronomical results in the world of writing.**

**I do enjoy a profile, but introducing an OC in the first chapter makes the story too formal, and creates an unnecessary atmosphere right from the get-go. **


End file.
